Direct entry command.
 

In an answer to the impending shortage of pilots that Hong Kong will face when the wonderful government consider it safe to open up to the rest of the dirty infected world. A plan is in place to offer DEC contracts aimed at ex CX commanders who might be lured back to Hong Kong for another stint. Remuneration is an all inclusive monthly payment, that supposedly covers housing /medical etc.

For a second there I thought it must have been 1 April. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that it was almost a month ago!

The price tag for me to EVER walk in to CX CIty again....it would have to be over a hundred thousand US a month... in my off shore account. Won't HAPPEN.

They could have just offered unpaid leave in the first place, next think you'll know is that they will offer bases again.

Or commuting contracts, or part time.

All fairly cheap ways to solve their problem, but they will probably just throw money at it instead, since they are a 'hong kong airline'

I think this sentiment will be shared by many. CX has left a sour taste in a lot of their ex-employees mouths.

Bases are not cheap anymore and will never come back. Neither will Cathay ever offer part time or (real, workable) commuter contracts.

DEC offers will just push the exodus further from the FO pool. Fellow countrymen are leaving for Doha and back to Blighty for LCC flying. There are several Austronauts going back to Dash 8's, the Americans are going to Atlas others are just leaving Aviation. CX has left a sour taste in everyone's mouth. After over a decade of slavery for many of these gents time has come to depart no matter what.

I think the current outflow of talent is less sustainable than bases or part time rostering.

But I'm sure someone has to save face on the 3rd floor.

Saw information 300 plus CX crew had passed stage one of the interview in Doha, not everyone will be going, but that's a lot.

Stage one is only scratching the surface. Just waiting until you see everyone at check in heading for the real interviews, most will pass given how desperate QR have become for bodies. You would have to have lost your marbles to go to Doha any other time but right now it makes sense for many.

I've heard that it's not just CX haemorrhaging right now. UO are also going to have major issues maintaining crew. Russians having to make hard choices given the current situation and supposedly at least half of the crew working for other companies during their unpaid leave.

Need to start pay to fly for all cadet pilot , $160k USD is good price to charge , then Western Capt can also be paid the increase . Very safe very good for business

This is a red herring, no significant number of Cathay pilots will leave and go to Qatar (unfortunately). Terrible place to live and work.

How do you know?

Less money for more work under an evil management requiring to live in a hostile culture in a place that is basically inhabitable for 8 months per year and boring for 12 months, all with no chance of commuting.

Let's call it an educated guess ;-)

STW is all over it. They are can’ts. And then they fire you. Hardly an industry secrets.

*Less money: nope!
*More work: depends on the fleet, but generally you’re right (747 being the exception).
*Evil management: you mean like cx?
*Hostile culture: you mean like China?
*No chance of commuting: you mean like Hong Kong?

A guess? Yes! Educated? Hardly!

Come on Piet, it takes about 2 minutes to look up the salary and average block hours at Qatar. Really?

If you believe living conditions, commuting potential and management are the same, it is your opinion, fair enough. But I am very sure you are in a minority position here. You will see, there will be no significant outflow to Qatar from Cathay. Want to bet?

My mate is making more money than I was in cx AFTER tax and the disparity will be even greater after your ARAP expires, so you keep up your google info. He also flies the 747 and his roster is an average of 55-60 hours a month, but again: google probably knows better.

Commuting out of HKG has been pretty much impossible in the previous 2 years and will probably be for quite some time, unless you dismiss your 2 weeks of quarantaine and count that as your holiday.
My friend travels home at least once a month.

You always seem to know better, don’t you STW!
I don’t think many will cross over from cx to qr, but I am merely correcting your google info and give you some more informed information.

By the way, I hope you noticed I didn’t correct your statement about Doha being unliveable and boring and hence comparing cx and qr and HKG and DOH is apples and oranges.
Some of your “opinions” however are not based on facts, hence my interjection.

Almost every statement starting with "a friend of mine" is BS. Check the salary scale of captains in Qatar. Its not comparable to Cathay and you know it. There is also no way you can commute home once a month at Qatar.

Of course right now CX is almost unbearable. But most people will make career choices long term, that is my argument here.

Again, the whole point is there will be no significant outflow to Qatar. Unfortunately.

Don't shoot the messenger, it's not my fault there are way worse places than CX. Your anger is projected, as usual.

Mate, believe what you want. I’ve seen his rosters AND his payslips.
I’ve also visited him in Doha and I concur: it IS most definitely a ****ty place to live in.
The only reason he manages to live there: $$$.

Do you care to comment on my statement about your ability to commute from HKG or would you rather dismiss this with your typical arrogance?
The difference between you and I: I acknowledge when you get one right. You seem to be unable to.
And most definitely you are unable to acknowledge anything you might have gotten wrong.
No wonder you feel so at home and comfy in cx.

Commute to where? Within Asia, to Australia/Oz? Of course much better at Cathay. Again, naturally not at the moment. To Europe hard / borderline insane at Cathay ( in my opinion anyway) but IMPOSSIBLE at Qatar. Forget it, thousands have tried and failed. You can't commute from any gulf airline to anywhere, period ( maybe India?) Not even SA. If you doubt that there is no point to argue, we just have to leave it there.

The reason there is no point to argue WITH YOU is that in the face of ALL the evidence to the contrary, you will maintain that YOU are right and everyone else must be wrong.
I told you my friend is commuting and you say “IMPOSSIBLE”.
I told you my friend is making more money than I was in cx (after tax) and you say “IMPOSSIBLE”.
I told you my friend is flying less hours than his counterpart in cx and you say “IMPOSSIBLE”.

“Not at the moment” meaning how long?
Before the pandemic my friend was able to commute much more often (to Europe) than he is now, but you want to compare the best commuting days of cx with the worst commuting days at qr.
That way either of us can win ANY argument.

Bottom line: many of your initial statements and comparisons were not based in fact, ie WRONG.
Some were.

They might have been correct in the past and might be again in the future, but my friend in qr is seeing his family at least once a month (not enough in my book).
My friend in cx hasn’t seen his family in over a year.
But yes: STW WILL maintain that commuting options are much better in cx (just not right now….🤦🏼‍♂️).

Edit: I forgot to mention: my friend (I know, I know) lives in a 4 bedroom villa in a compound with a nice pool and gym, which he pays for with his housing allowance (not sure if your google document mentions that, because apparently not everyone qualifies for that).
He doesn’t have to live that luxurious, he could also downsize and pocket the housing allowance he’s not using. Try that in cx. Oh, I forgot, ARAPA is dead anyway.

Well we all agree that middle east is replacing rotten apple with rotten bananas.
Whats interesting is the 400 odd Australian CX pilots conducting testing for Qantas. Even if only 50% made it through then it would be surprising if none took it
and the large number of guys going to Atlas and E3 sponsoring regionals in the USA on a weekly basis....

Regardless, CX is losing pilots at a rapid rate and l’m sure most don’t care about the money anymore.

It’s more about the hostile management, archaic government and the loss of liberties under the watchful eye of the CCP.

So, what is the price of that? I’m fairly sure as a European, QR would be a lot better to see your family occasionally.

There is one pilot of 3000 in Qatar who is able to commute ( by coincidence a good mate of Piet). The rest are either flying a 100 block to India back and forth or sitting in a mall at Starbucks and wondering what went wrong in their lives.

But sure, if you want to escape hostile management, archaic government and loss of liberties, there is no better place than Qatar.

Are these your mates STW? You criticise Piet, but then you create a scenario based upon?

People have moved beyond STW, it appears you have a problem with that?

I hear EK have restored all the pre covid contracts to those they terminated, can’t see that happening at CX.

They will have to, market forces. 800 Cadets will not change that, but they are still comfortable in sticking their head in the sand at the moment. Wait till flights are cancelled due to insufficient crew. Money will start to flap all over the place.

This entire debate is based on the assumption that CXi is going to survive and thrive - which I very much doubt.

Some possible scenarios are:

• CXi goes t.ts up (no more Govt money, sorry);
• Gets absorbed by another airline (locals only);
• Goes all out LCC (certainly heading that way).

One fact is clear: with a 5 BILLION USD loan to repay at 9% interest in 3 years from now, the company will not get into the black for a very very long time to come.

To me that means no future bonus, no pay rises (ever), but instead more and more erosion of current conditions, history just repeating itself.

Time to log off, clock off, and f… off

Aircrew pay is a fraction of the total operating cost. Can’t run an airline without pilots, yet..
need that hardship money to attract expats, lots of it.
same with other industries in Hong Kong.

ofcourse predicated of if it survives.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....8cf92242d.jpeg

Ok, Piet, I bite.

Define commuting.

How long is a piece of string?

About 3-5 days a month when you work for Qatar. Maybe, if you are lucky. Ridiculous.

Which, again, is more than you can do in cx right now.
Ridiculous indeed.
From Merriam-Webster:



https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....999ceeeae.jpeg
I reckon you will now start to argue that flying back to your family once a year is also considered “regularly” and that hence commuting options at qr and cx are the same.
Or that my friend isn’t really commuting, since he is not travelling between a suburb and a city.
I feel foolish arguing with you, but I can’t help it.
It’s stronger than myself and I DO get off rubbing your face in your own stupidity and arrogance.

Of course anything is better than the current state at Cathay. I would never argue with that. If you assume the status quo will continue, you are right. How likely is that?

Piet, you are dishonest. You know very well that commuting at Qatar is impossible.

I give up. Bill Murray is right.

Piet, cool down, I come in peace. We are all in the same boat.

QR is ( unfortunately) no better alternative to CX.

https://www.pprune.org/middle-east/6...l#post11223164

Ah the famous “username taken” has given you an answer on pprune.
I’m convinced now and stand corrected.
I’ll tell my friend he’s full of ****!

(I’ll also tell my cx friend that he’s full of **** too and that him not seeing his family for a year plus isn’t any worse than qr’s situation).

Do you honestly ever self reflect and read your own drivel?

Can you ladies please stop swinging your handbags at each other?

Oh, come now. I find it quite entertaining. 🥳🍿